in the Cathedral Church of Saint Fin Barre, Cork by
The Right Reverend Dr Paul Colton,
Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross
When you pull a Christmas cracker, there’s usually a corny joke or a riddle. Here’s a riddle for you from me this Christmas morning. Why would hundreds of people, with millions around the world watching on the world’s main TV channels (SKY, BBC, CNN for starters), converge on a Church Service 18 days ago; a crowd that included, presidents, one president’s wife and daughter, a president soon to be, prime ministers (past and present), kings, queens, princes, princesses, grand dukes, grand duchesses, politicians, guests, artistes, musicians, church leaders, as well as several hundred professionals, highly skilled workers and hundred more fire fighters – oh, and even Elon Musk? Why would they all converge on an act of religious worship?
Not much of a riddle really, if you follow the news. At one level, the answer is simple. After the catastrophic fire of 2019, and following the breakneck speed of the restoration, drawing on skills and crafts, many of which risk being lost to the world, the ‘soul of France’, as it’s known, the mighty medieval cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris – of Our Lady of Paris – which they started building in 1163 on the Île de la Cité, an island in the River Seine – Island of the City – first mentioned by Julius Caesar in 53 BC and in the 3rd century, site of a Roman fortress – was being reopened by the Archbishop of Paris. The great occasion even caused a momentary ceasefire in the turmoil of French domestic politics. There was the Cathedral for hours on our TV screens – soaking up prime time TV the world over – with that great symbol of France – the cockerel – a new cockerel – one refashioned to look somewhat like a phoenix of new birth, atop the spire, and with recast bells (one of them already rung by victors at the Paris Olympics earlier this year, before being hung with two others in the cathedral’s sanctuary). The restoration was likened by many to a resurrection. Let’s not over-egg the resurrection paradigm in the case of a building. As President Macron himself said ‘Cathedrals are mortal.’ As if to remind us of that fragility, mother nature, the weather, got the upper hand at the event, and much of the human planning had to be changed.
But the event pulled a crowd from all over the world. There were all those people of importance inside the cathedral, eyes looking upwards in wonderment and admiration; and many of them taking sneaky ‘pics’ of each other on their phones. I couldn’t resist a wry smile and mischievous thought as I watched all the world leaders and celebrities standing in, one by one, for photographs outside with President and Mrs Macron of France, with, as a backdrop, rather pointedly, the sculpted scene on the west front of Notre Dame, of the Last Judgment – the same scene that is depicted over our great west door here in Cork.
€700 million later; 2000 people – stonemasons, architects, engineers, carpenters, roofers, metal workers, sculptors, artists and countless more – working daily on the site for five years – 2000 oak trees for timber beams to support 4,000 square metres of lead, weighing 210 tonnes. The restoration took forensic research. It wasn’t just brute structural engineering. It was and is art. President Macron on one of his visits to Notre Dame commented ‘The intricacy is incredible’. And he asked ‘How long does it take to train a carpenter to do this work?’ “A lifetime” answered Julien le Bras, head of the firm of carpenters, ‘a lifetime!’
So, as I say, at one level, there you have one answer to my Christmas Day riddle as to why all those world-famous people, as well as ordinary Parisians converged on Paris for that Church Service, and why so many of us watched it on TV.
But why would you or anyone bother? Why bother restoring the Cathedral at all? Wouldn’t it all be rather pointless if it is only to be some relic and example of an architectural masterpiece of the past, stunningly beautiful as it still is? God forbid, but if this cathedral of St Fin Barre was destroyed tonight, would we restore it just for art’s sake alone, or because of the void on our city’s skyline? No we wouldn’t.
Something stronger and more fundamental is undergirding all of this, and underpins the efforts, over the centuries made by countless generations in every part of the world, to build places of worship, of prayer and to serve as pastoral bridgeheads for engagement with the surrounding communities.
Generations of people simply would not have bothered erecting and preserving and adorning these impressive buildings of immense scale, unless there was something truly wondrous behind it all. People simply wouldn’t have bothered unless there was something to bother about – something to motivate, inspire and transform them. We wouldn’t have bothered coming here today on this annual feast if there wasn’t something fundamental and life-changing to touch base with: the nativity – the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we accept that centrality of the Christmas story as a proposition which resolves the Christmas Day riddle I pose to you, then we have no option but to ask ourselves:
What does that birth – and the life, teaching and example that followed mean for me now?
How am I to respond?
How does this birthday and the movement it started affect and change me?
None of this would have happened in Paris, or here, or anywhere else for that matter, if the baby had not been born that first Christmas and if, in every generation, people hadn’t responded the way they have. It is what it represents – today’s story – that endures. The clue to my Christmas Day riddle is in the name of that Cathedral in Paris – Notre Dame de Paris – our Lady of Parish – and behind its high altar is the marble statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the lifeless body of her son as his body is taken down from the cross – they are at the centre of it all. She and he are at heart of today’s Christmas story too, as she gives birth to him; our saviour.
In this we put our faith, hope and love – and its power to transform:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.’ (John 1.1-5)
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.’ (John 1.14)
And one last thought from Paris. The greatest of the bells of Notre Dame – cast in 1686 and weighing 13,000 kg – is named Emmanuel. Emmanuel – the name of the child born at the heart of the Christmas story. Let us draw strength and inspiration, in these overwhelming and unsettled times, from that name, Emmanuel, which means ‘God with us.’
As one Bible version puts it
‘The life-light blazed out in the darkness, and the darkness couldn’t put it out.’ (John 1.5: The Message)
St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork, Christmas 2024 (Photo: Eoin Murphy)
The United Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross will hold over 200 services throughout the 12 Days of Christmas and the days leading up to the Christmas Festival.
The following list gives details of church services in the parishes and chaplaincies across the diocese. The list is organised by parish/location. If you would like to see a list organised by date/festival please visit our website.
For further information on specific services you can contact your local clergy HERE.
Abbeystrewry (Skibbereen)
Sunday 22nd December ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent
8.30am Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen
4.00pm Carol service in Abbeystrewry Church
Tuesday 24th December ~ Christmas Eve
4.00pm Family Crib Service in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen
11.30pm Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen.
Wednesday 25th December ~ Christmas Day
9.00am Eucharist in St. Barrahane’s, Castletownshend
10.00am Eucharist in St. Matthew’s, Baltimore
10.15am Eucharist in St. Mary’s, Caheragh
11.30am Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen
Thursday 26th December ~ St Stephen’s Day
10.30am Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen.
Friday 27th December ~ The Feast of St John the Evangelist
10.30am Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen.
Sunday 29th December ~ The First Sunday of Christmas
8.30am Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen
11.30am Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen
Wednesday 1st January ~ The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus
10.30am Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church
Sunday 5th January/Monday 6th January ~ The Epiphany
8.30am Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen
10.00am Eucharist in St. Barrahane’s, Castletownshend
10.00am Eucharist in St. Mary’s, Caheragh
11.30am Eucharist in Abbeystrewry Church, Skibbereen
Ballydehob
Sunday 22nd December ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent
11.00am United Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, St Matthew’s, Aughadown
Tuesday 24th December ~ Christmas Eve
4.00pm Children’s Crib Service, St Matthews’s, Aughadown
11.30pm Eucharist United Service, St Matthias’s, Ballydehob
Wednesday 25th December ~ Christmas Day
10.00am Eucharist, St Matthew’s, Aughadown
11.30am Eucharist, St Matthias, Ballydehob
Sunday 29th December ~ The First Sunday of Christmas
11.00am United Service of the Word, St Matthias, Ballydehob
Bandon
Sunday 22nd December ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent
11.00am Family Nativity Service, St Peter’s Church, Bandon
Tuesday 24th December ~ Christmas Eve
12noon Christ Church, Innishannon
9.00pm St Peter’s Church, Bandon
Wednesday 25th December ~ Christmas Day
9.00am Ballinadee
10.00am Rathclaren
10.30am Brinny
11.30am Bandon
11.45am Innishannon
Sunday 29th December ~ The First Sunday of Christmas
11.00am United Carol Service, St Peter’s Church, Bandon
Sunday 5th January
9.00am Ballinadee Morning Prayer
10.00am Rathclaren Eucharist 1
10.30am Brinny Morning Prayer
11.30am Bandon Eucharist
11.45am Innishannon Morning Prayer
Monday 6th January ~ The Epiphany
11.00am Eucharist, St Peter’s Church, Bandon
Carrigaline
Sunday 22nd December ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent
11am Morning Prayer, St Mary’s Church, Carrigaline (live-streamed)
4pm Service of Nine Lessons & Carols, St John’s Church, Monkstown
Tuesday 24th December ~ Christmas Eve
4pm Carols around the Crib Service, St Mary’s Church, Carrigaline
11pm First Eucharist of the Nativity, St Mary’s Church, Carrigaline
Wednesday 25th December ~ Christmas Day
9:30am Holy Communion, St John’s Church, Monkstown
11am Holy Communion, St Mary’s Church, Carrigaline (live-streamed)
Sunday 29th December ~ The First Sunday of Christmas
11am United Christingle Service , St Mary’s Church, Carrigaline (live-Streamed)
Wednesday 1st January ~ The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus
10:30am Holy Communion, St Mary’s Church, Carrigaline
Sunday 5th January
9:30am Holy Communion, St John’s Church, Monkstown
11am Holy Communion, St Mary’s Church, Carrigaline (live-streamed)
Monday 6th January ~ The Epiphany
10:30am Holy Communion, St Mary’s Church, Carrigaline
Live streaming is on the Carrigaline Union website
The S.H.A.R.E. Cork collection was inaugurated for the 55th year on Friday 13th December 2024 by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Dan Boyle, and the S.H.A.R.E. Crib on St Patrick’s Street, Cork was blessed by the two bishops: Dr Paul Colton and Dr Fintan Gavin.
The Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Right Reverend Paul Colton, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Dan Boyle, and the Bishop of Cork and Ross, the Most Reverend Dr Fintan Gavin with students at the launch of Cork’s Iconic S.H.A.R.E. Crib on St. Patrick Street. Photo: Gerard McCarthy
Almost 2,000 Students will take part at some stage in this year’s S.H.A.R.E. collection in aid of older people. The collection continues throughout the streets of the city until Christmas Eve, with many of the 5th year students fasting during that time also.
S.HA.R.E. stands for Students Harness Aid for the Relief of the Elderly, and it has 140 housing units for older people throughout Cork City and also a wide range of support services for older people.
Once again, as Christmas approaches, it gives us joy as bishops of Cork to send you our greetings and to wish you and your loved ones a blessed, peaceful and happy Christmas.
We live in times when so much around us and in the world at large is overwhelming, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. As well as the enduring challenges that face us in our own society and communities, there are wars in many parts of the world, especially on our own continent and in the Middle East, but also conflicts in many places that seem to have been forgotten by most, with the humanitarian catastrophe that strife invariably causes. What can we do? Often we feel helpless and powerless to make a difference.
In this part of the world, Christmas comes at the darkest time of the year. Each flickering candle and each Christmas light, speaks powerfully, therefore, to us of the message in the Christmas Gospel written by Saint John about Jesus Christ the light of the world: ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’
Christmas invites us every year to be attracted again and again to that light; in the same way that the shepherds in the fields that first Christmas were drawn to the light and song of the angels; as the wise ones were drawn to follow the light of the star until they came to Jesus, the newborn baby in Bethlehem. Like those shepherds and those wise leaders we too are invited to bring ourselves as gifts and to offer what we can in prayer and in service, to God, to each other and to those most in need around us and further afield.
So, what can we do in the face of so many challenges? Most of us are not in a position to make decisions that change things on a national or international stage. However, in small ways, where we each are, we can all do something to make life better for others around us. As small gestures or practical acts by many individuals mount up and gather momentum, they can make a real difference to others. As Christians too we believe in the power of prayer, and so we can pray for those who do have authority and roles of decision-making on a scale greater than most of us do.
Our prayer for you is that this Christmas you will once more draw strength from the birth of Jesus who is Emmanuel; God with us.
+Fintan Gavin Bishop of Cork and Ross
+Paul Colton Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross
The Bishops of Cork, the Most Rev. Dr Fintan Gavin and the Right Rev. Dr Paul Colton at the launch of Cork’s Iconic SHARE Crib to on St. Patrick Street in 2023. Photo: Gerard McCarthy
Further information from: Denise Stobart, Diocesan Media Officer Email: media@corkchurchofireland.com
Posted inBishop, Christmas|Comments Off on Joint Christmas Message from the Bishops of Cork: The Most Rev. Dr Fintan Gavin and the Right Rev. Dr Paul Colton
Colin Nicholls, organist of St Fin Barre’s Cathedral from 1981-2007, has been announced as Cork Person of the Month for December in recognition of over forty years of service to Cork’s musical landscape and his significant philanthropic involvement with the Rotary Club of Cork across two decades.
December Cork Person of the Month Colin Nicholls pictured seated with his wife Angela. Also included L/R: Manus O’Callaghan, Awards Organiser; George Duggan, Cork Crystal; Alzbeta Belkova, The Metropole Hotel; Ian O’Driscoll, Masterkabin. Picture by Vitaliy Makhnanov.
The Cork Person of the Year awards scheme writes:
Colin moved to Cork from London in 1981 and is most well known for serving as organist and master of the choristers at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral for over 26 years. In this role he was widely regarded for his immense knowledge and understanding of the Anglican tradition. His role included composing musical pieces, maintaining a high standard of choral music, repairing organs, recruiting choir members and organising special ceremonies such as the legendary Christmas service of Nine Lessons and Carols, which has become a mainstay of Cork’s festive calendar.
Colin currently serves as conductor of the 60-singer strong East Cork Choral Society, a choir for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass that performs in venues right across the country. He recently conducted the choral society as it performed Handel’s Messiah in St Peter and Paul’s Church on November 30th, and is currently preparing the choir for a rendition of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius which is set to be performed at the opening concert of the 2025 Cork International Choral Festival.
He also acts as director of the College of Clerks Choral in Youghal, an ancient institution originally established in 1464.
Acutely aware of the importance of fostering the next generation of musical talent in Cork, he has in the past served as official accompanist for the annual Feis Maitiú competition in string and woodwind, a music and drama Festival held at Father Mathew Hall in the centre of Cork City.
His musical contributions also extend to academia. A graduate of Trinity College of Music in London, he went on to lecture in organ studies at the Cork School of Music and in harmony at UCC. In acknowledgement of his immense services to music he received an honorary MA from the National University of Ireland.
Outside of music, Colin has been an active member of the Rotary Club of Cork for over 20 years and served as its President in both 2010 and 2012. He is most proud of the ten years he spent running the club’s Friendship Night for Seniors and organising its Youth Leadership Development Competition, an initiative that rewards young people with clear leadership potential based on their extra-curricular activities.
On awarding Colin with December’s Cork Person of the Month Award, Awards Organiser Manus O’Callaghan expressed his admiration for Colin’s decades of commitment to Cork culture and community across the decades.
“Colin has left an indelible mark on Cork’s musical landscape across the last four decades. His commitment to his craft is second to none, and through this he has built a significant cultural legacy. Furthermore, his involvement with the Rotary Club of Cork is a credit to his selfless and altruistic character. I’m delighted to honour him with this Cork Person of the Month Award to recognise the exemplary service he has provided to our city and county.”
Colin’s name will now go forward alongside the other monthly winners for possible selection as Cork Person of the Year at the annual Gala Awards Lunch in January, 2025.
Both, Colin and his wife Angela, are still heavily involved in church music in Cork, Cloyne and Ross, acting as organists in Bandon Union of Parishes and Moviddy Union of Parishes.
RSS - Posts